Rosemary Wells: "A Daily Dose of Reading"

Rosemary Wells, a New York Times bestselling children’s author and illustrator, believes that reading books should be an everyday occurrence – especially among younger readers.

Wells delivered the keynote address on early childhood literacy at the day-long symposium titled “A Daily Dose of Reading: Growing Readers Everywhere” on Tuesday, May 19, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Kent State University. The symposium was sponsored by the Kent State University School of Library and Information Science along with the Northeast Ohio Regional Library System (NEO-RLS).

Wells' address was followed by a panel discussion on “Reading to Children, Health Care Connections and Reaching the Primary Caretaker.” In the afternoon, presentations considered the topics of “Music and Movement,” “Sensory Storytime” and “Ready to Read.” Additionally, Wells will be available to autograph books, available for purchase at the KSU Bookstore.

Raised on the New Jersey shore, Wells grew up in a home teeming with books.

“Reading stories aloud was as much a part of my childhood as the air I breathed,” Wells has said in recent interviews. Based on those early memories, Wells believes that the most important 20 minutes of a day are the ones spent reading to children. In her rhyming story, Read to Your Bunny, Wells invites parents and children to read together every day.

“Reading to your little one is just like putting gold coins in the bank,” she writes. “It will pay you back tenfold.”

Wells’ career as an author and illustrator includes more than 120 books filled with beloved characters like Max and Ruby, Noisy Nora and Yoko. She has won numerous awards, including more than 20 American Library Association Notable Children's Book citations and a Boston Globe/Horn Book Award. Many of her books have been named among the Best Books of the Year in their respective years of publication by School Library Journal, including Max’s Chocolate Chicken, Noisy Nora, Shy Charles and When No One Was Looking.

Most importantly, though, Wells has helped shape the childhoods of readers for more than 40 years.

The symposium took place in the Kent State University Student Center. Teachers, librarians, artists, creators, graduate and undergraduate students and book collectors were among those in attendance.